A chat with The Goa Express ahead of their first headline tour of the UK

Benjamin Forrest on 15 May 2022

Originally formed as teenagers in Burnley, The Goa Express have since been claimed by every music scene from Manchester to West Yorkshire, their unique brand of psychedelic, garage-punk influenced indie music gaining them a sizeable following. The group have been steadily rising in popularity since their initial release, ‘Reincarnation of the Lizard Queen’, in 2016 and are now set for their first headline tour around the UK – including a date at Hyde Park Book Club in Leeds on the 18th May. I spoke to lead singer James Clarke, and his brother Joe who plays keys in the group, to get their thoughts going into the tour and find out a little more about The Goa Express. 

The Burnley quintet includes two brothers – James and Joe – James states boredom as a predominant reason for the formation of the group, “We came together largely through not having that much to do in Burnley and largely through meeting in school. We all met in school, always to hung out together and then didn’t really have that much to do other than going to each other’s houses and muck around, there’s limited opportunities in small towns”. Speaking of small towns, though, The Goa Express has been heavily tied to the rising scene in the Calder Valley. Todmorden and Hebden Bridge seem to be breeding grounds for great groups at the moment, with the likes of Working Men’s Club, The Orielles and The Lounge Society putting these towns on the map. At the epicentre of this scene is The Golden Lion, a pub and independent venue established in 2015 which now also operates as a record label (Golden Lion Sounds), releasing records for artists such as Henge, The Lounge Society, and even Jarvis Cocker! Asked about this thriving local music scene, James explained, “Waka – Richard Walker – who runs the Golden Lion with Gig, we’re both from Todmorden so we’ve grown up there, we know the faces quite familiarly, we’ve just known him for ages. Although it seems like quite an unsuspecting place and a, sort of, little hidden little town in the middle of nowhere it’s probably not that unsuspecting when you’re there. It’s full of crazy characters and wacky people. Golden Lion was a bit of a refuge for us growing up, when we didn’t have anything else to do, anywhere to go, anywhere to listen to the sort of stuff we wanted to listen to”. The Golden Lion is a prime example of the absolute importance of independent venues for the development of new artists and music scenes, and the existence of bands like The Goa Express would surely support that claim!

Thus far, releases from The Goa Express have all come from independent labels, with early singles on Wrong Way and Eli Records and their recent singles on Ra-Ra Rok Records. The single ‘Be My Friend’, which received praise from Steve Lamacq on BBC 6Music, featured on the Counter Culture 20 compilation by Rough Trade. The Goa Express are an undeniably independent band, Joe detailed the benefits of this approach for the band, “Luckily we’ve still managed to maintain a good level of control over what we do and the people we meet and what trajectory you want to go down. I think eventually we won’t be against having the support of a label but we’re trying to do that on our own terms and keep as much control as possible”, he went on to explain “We’re not gonna spend our entire music careers being independent but it works for now and we’ve not needed anything else. It’s quite difficult coming from no involvement in the music industry to just all of a sudden having a shit ton of deals in front of you, managers and lawyers and all this kind of thing. It’s been nice for us to take it slowly and build up trust with different avenues”. The band are currently witnessing a great deal of success being signed to Ra-Ra Rok Records so, presumably, there are already a few major labels sniffing around – watch this space!

Blending psychedelia, pop, garage rock and indie, The Goa Express have a fantastic and thankfully non-generic sound to them. Asked about their influences, James lists, “A lot of Spiritualized, a lot of Brian Jonestown Massacre, a lot of stuff that was revivalist of 60s stuff but came later on in the 90s. Obviously your generic Britpop stuff and things that were dead catchy but largely the stuff that remained a little bit underground and revived certain movements that were lost in a bit more of a contemporary way”, before adding, “As well as all the classic shit that everyone listens to”. The psychedelic influences were definitely more noticeable on the bands earlier tracks, and that is something the group will admit to, “We’re less psychedelic now, none of us like that track [Reincarnation of the Lizard Queen] at all, we probably borderline hate that track. It’s funny to look back on and thing that that long ago we were still trying to get our stuff out there”. Describing the reasons for the development in sound, the band said, “We’re a bit more selective, the sound has just kind of evolved gradually, it’s never been coordinated to end up in a certain genre”.

Speaking to the Goa Express brothers it was refreshing to see their lack of pretentiousness in their approach to music and their band, perhaps it’s their Northern roots or the fact that they are fairly early on in their trajectory of success – either way, it is clear to see that The Goa Express exist largely through a simple love of good music between close friends. Prior to setting off on tour, which began in Nottingham on the 10th May, I asked the brothers about how they would approach their first headline tour, “Just go and enjoy it and embrace it. This time around, considering it’s our own and it’s a headliner, just try and make a good impression and not take things that seriously. If one show is wicked that good, if one show is bad and no one shows up then so be it, who cares?”. The two highlighted the Leeds gig at Hyde Park Book Club (which you can purchase tickets for here) as one they were particularly looking forward to. The group were supposed to play on the Oporto stage at Live at Leeds last year but had to pull out the night before, if the disappointment felt within those attending the festival is anything to go by then the Leeds gig is sure to be a good one, and James assured us “We’ll be there on time and in top form”. 

Sleeper’s Louise Wener talks ‘The It Girl’ ahead of the 25th Anniversary Tour

Benjamin Forrest on 21 April 2022

Formed in London in 1992, Sleeper quickly became one of the biggest British bands of the nineties – with eight top 40 singles in the UK and three top 10 albums across the decade. After reforming in 2017, the group are now set to tour their 1996 platinum-selling album The It Girl, including a date at the O2 Academy here in Leeds on the 22nd of April. Ahead of the tour, I spoke to songwriter, vocalist and guitarist Louise Wener to get more of an insight into the history of the group and their current tour.

The tour is primarily to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the groups most successful album The It Girl, the follow-up to the incredibly successful debut Smart. Louise described how The It Girl differed to their debut, saying, “We’d had success with Smart and we loved that, but I think we felt like this the one that was really gonna break us through to a different level”. The album certainly did break the band through to the mainstream, achieving four Top 20 singles in ‘Statuesque’, ‘Sale of the Century’, ‘Nice Guy Eddie’ and ‘What Do I Do Now?’. The band, though, were seemingly unaware of the extent of their success at the time; Louise recalled, “We were very much living in the moment in those days, but it was great! When you get asked to go on Top of the Pops and stuff like that, that’s when your parents go ‘my kids doing something proper’, but even when you’re in the middle of it you’re always looking over your shoulder to see what everyone else is doing – it was a very hypercompetitive environment”. 

It is easy to see why that would have been the case, the mid-90s is viewed as a sort of golden age in British rock and indie music – with incredible bands like Pulp, Elastica, Oasis, Blur and Suede rising to prominence (among countless others). Asked about what that period in musical history was like to be a part of, Louise explained, “You have a much broader sense of that retrospectively but what was present was that feeling of…it felt very celebratory, like it was an explosion of guitar music and indie music – there was a feeling that anything could happen at that point – it was very joyful, I suppose”. Many music historians cite the rise of British guitar music, or what has been divisively referred to as ‘Britpop’, as a reaction to the grunge scene of the early 90s.  “The demographic had shifted, people getting played on the radio that hadn’t previously”, Louise said of the rise in indie bands at the time, “Radio 1, specifically, opened up to guitar music. It’s the same with all movements, it’s just something that grows and catches and divides and becomes something”. 

Due to the fact that Sleeper had supported Blur on their Parklife tour, as well as the fact they were making predominantly guitar music in the mid-90s, Sleeper have always been tagged with the Britpop label. The term ‘Britpop’ has divided opinions, with bands like Suede being quick to distance themselves from the term, “I couldn’t give a shit about it, it’s just something some journalist came up with”, said Louise of the ‘Britpop’ label, “I don’t know if like new romantic bands get asked the same question – how does it feel being new romantic? or how did it feel being grunge? It seems so specific to Britpop, it’s very strange to me. I don’t think any of us really care”. 

One of the singles from The It Girl, ‘Statuesque’, in addition to a cover of Blondie’s ‘Atomic’ featured on the soundtrack to the iconic film Trainspotting (1996). The soundtrack is often hailed as a gold standard for indie film soundtracks – featuring the likes of Lou Reed, New Order, Iggy Pop, Pulp and, of course, Sleeper. According to Louise, though, it didn’t feel like such a momentous occasion at the time: “It was just a bit of fun and then obviously became this sort of cultural moment, I guess”. The film undoubtedly brough more attention to the band, and the track ‘Statuesque’ peaked at number 17 in the UK singles chart in 1996.

Now, 26 years later, Sleeper are back performing tracks from The It Girl to audiences across the country, “They take on a new life and a different kind of meaning because of the intervening years – the interval has made it something different so that’s what makes it feel wonderful to play them again”, explained Louise. 

Sleeper are set to perform at the O2 Academy in Leeds on the 22nd April, tickets are available for purchase here.

Sparks demonstrate their brilliance to a sold-out Albert Hall in Manchester

Benjamin Forrest on 17 April 2022

There have been a countless number of bands and artists that have come and gone over the years – perhaps releasing a few singles or a couple of albums here and there before dissolving and being swallowed up by the relentless marching of time. There is one band, though, that have seemingly been a constant fixture of pop and rock music since the late 60s, I am of course referring to Sparks. Originally formed in 1968 under the name Halfnelson, Sparks have undergone numerous reinventions, line-up changes, and have witnessed very varying degrees of success. The heart of the group, however, has been and will always be the brother Ron and Russell Mael – who have been playing together for over 50 years without growing to passionately hate each other (Liam and Noel, take notes). 

After various pandemic-related delays, Sparks were finally able to get back on tour this year and their first post-lockdown English date saw them perform at Manchester’s Albert Hall to a long sold-out crowd. In lieu of a support band, Sparks treated the people of Manchester to a 2-hour set – no mean feat for two people in their mid-seventies, though it is perhaps less surprising when you take into account the fact that Sparks have 26 studio albums worth of material to fashion a setlist from. The brothers, along with their fantastic backing band, played a great selection of their biggest hits and fan favourites from their extensive discography, including two songs from the soundtrack to Annette, the 2021 Leo Carax film, for which Sparks provided the soundtrack. No strangers to the world of film (we won’t mention ‘Rollercoaster’ (1977) if you don’t), Sparks were recently the subject of a documentary, ‘The Sparks Brothers’, by legendary British director Edgar Wright and, as Russell told the audience in Manchester, are currently working on a musical film. 

The performance given by Sparks at the Albert Hall was second to none, with Ron and Russell delivering banger after banger with the ease and casual nature which can only come with over 5 decades of experience. Whether you’re more into Angst in My Pants (1982) or A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip (2020), there was something for every type of Sparks fan within this set – Ron even treated the audience to his incredible dance moves during ‘Number One Song in Heaven’, moves which would have put Fred Astaire to shame. A particular highlight, personally, was the inclusion of the song ‘Johnny Delusional’ from the 2015 collaborative album FFS, made with indie rock giants Franz Ferdinand. The collaboration, along with Sparks endless desire for musical innovation, are good indicators of what sets Sparks apart from other rock bands of their age group – Sparks could have stopped making music 40 years ago and would have still lived a comfortable life releasing greatest hits albums and doing occasional reunion tours, but instead they have insisted on remaining at the forefront of rock and pop music. 

After a beautiful rendition of their greatest hit ‘This Town Ain’t Big Enough for Both of Us’, for which the band received a well-deserved standing ovation, Sparks returned to the wings before returning for an encore of ‘Suburban Homeboy’ – a cut from their 2002 album Lil’ Beethoven which has now been re-released featuring rare vocals from Ron – and ‘All That’, a song, which the band say, unintentionally summed up how they felt whilst being unable to perform throughout the pandemic. Perhaps not the most obvious choices for an encore, but they worked excellently none the less.

Travelling back up the M62 after the show, I reflected on what had been an unbelievably brilliant gig and took solace in the fact that, even after 50 years and 26 studio albums, Sparks remain one of the greatest and most fearlessly original bands to grace the airwaves. Long live Ron and Russell Mael! 

In conversation with Alt-J’s Gus Unger-Hamilton ahead of the new release ‘The Dream’

Benjamin Forrest on 11 February 2022

Leeds-originated folktronica trio alt-J are set to release their fourth studio album, entitled The Dream, today. Ahead of the release, I spoke to keyboard player and backing vocalist (as well as past Gryphon contributor) Gus Unger-Hamilton to gain an insight into the production of the new album and to look back on his time within the group. 

alt-J formed as a quartet in 2007, at which time all members were studying at the University of Leeds. Gus explained, “Joe came to University with the express intention of wanting to start a band. Unbeknownst to us, he was kind of interviewing us in the first few weeks to see if we’d be suitable candidates to be in his band.”. Seemingly, the establishing of alt-J as a band happened pretty quickly after the four initially met, “We met at a party in halls on the first night of freshers’ week, then Joe met Thom and Gwilym on their course doing Fine Art. Joe started making music with Gwilym at first and then he asked me and Thom to get involved too. By the beginning of second year, we were fully up and running as a band.”.

Each alt-J album thus far has seemed very much like separate, respective projects – whilst there are similarities between them all, alt-J are certainly not a group which churns out the same album every few years. The Dream is certainly no exception to this rule. Asked about the musical evolution of the group Gus said, “We like to try keep ourselves interested in the band. I think because we’re all people with quite eclectic taste in music and quite inquisitive natures, we just naturally do end up constantly evolving. Innovation for innovations sake often doesn’t sound that good but I suppose we do talk quite a lot in the studio about trying to offer our fans new things here and there, to try to avoid falling into making a ‘clichéd alt-J song’ which we have, in the past, come close to doing before going ‘hang on, this sounds a bit like we’re repeating ourselves a bit here, how can we make this more interesting?”. There is not an abundance of groups which sound like alt-J, they have a fearlessly original sound. On the topic of influences, then, Gus gave an explanation for the recognisable and original ‘alt-J sound’ saying, “We all had a healthy love of Radiohead which was important, not just for the sound but also the kind of approach they had to making music, which was constant evolution and extreme musicianship, but with a very poppy finish with very good hooks and stuff. I think we’re a product of all of our musical backgrounds; me on the more classical side, Joe on the folky Americana side and Thom on the heavy metal side – I think that all those three things coming together create a sort of magic alt-J potion that you might not have expected to happen.”. 

The Dream is the fourth album from alt-J to be released on independent label Infectious Music. Gus spoke about how the trio’s relationship with Infectious was forged, “We had lots of major labels show and interest in us and come to Leeds to meet us, come to our gigs to watch us, come watch us rehearse and stuff and then they all kind of said the same thing which was, ‘We really like you, but we don’t know if it’s gonna sell’. So, in the end we got two offers from indies: Infectious and PIAS, and we went with Infectious.”. Although the label was acquired by BMG around the time of the band’s second album This Is All Yours, Gus explained that the band are still awarded the kind of creative freedom that comes with an independent label, “We were able to take that creative freedom and bring it into a more major label setup which we have now with BMG – BMG is still technically an independent label but Infectious, when we signed to it, was like five people in an office in Soho above Ronnie Scott’s, and now it’s a big office with hundreds of people. We have a licensing deal with Atlantic Warner in America which is a major major label, but they’ve had to accept the terms on which we signed our record deal which was ‘leave us alone, let us do our own thing’, so we’ve been quite lucky in that respect.”. 

Aside from the music itself, another thing which fans love about alt-J is the iconography and artwork employed by the group. The artwork for The Dream feels like a new artistic direction for the band in comparison to previous album covers. According to Gus, however, the chosen artwork was not the group’s first choice, “Our first choice was actually a Picasso painting called ‘The Dream’ but it was just gonna be too difficult to use a Picasso painting, we had set ourselves a bit of an impossible task, because you’ve got the Picasso estate, the owner of the painting, the gallery the painting is in – it’s just paperwork. We attempted to do it and pretty much immediately realised it was gonna be, what you might call, a complete fucking nightmare.”. The final cover is credited to artist Joel Wyllie, Gus discussed the process which led the group to this image, saying “We all owned some of his drawings and we asked him to send us some new work and he sent us some drawings, and this was one of them. We just really liked it, it’s quite an ambiguous image, this unspecified semi-human creature engaged in an unspecified activity. I think we liked that about it – it’s open to interpretation, a bit like the music.”. 

Picasso’s ‘The Dream’ (left) was the original choice for the album cover

Speaking of the music, The Dream is perhaps alt-J’s most mature album thus far, and the single ‘Get Better’ stands out amongst the band’s discography as particularly heart-breaking. I asked Gus about the band’s initial reaction when ‘Get Better’ was proposed by lead singer Joe, “Joe played me that song and I had a very emotional response to it. I cried for quite a long time, which had never really happened to me before with any song really – let alone an alt-J song. I think it’s amazing that Joe was able to access these emotional depths without actually experiencing directly what the song is talking about, so that’s the real gift that he has I suppose.”. Mind you, you need not look far on this album for evidence of Joe’s extraordinary song-writing ability. Gus suggested that this ability might be thanks, in part, to the influence of psychedelic drugs, “Joe did have an experience at Uni where he took mushrooms for the first time and had a pretty crazy time, he thinks he experienced ego death. He’s adamant that he came back from that experience and his song writing ability had improved a huge amount. Before that, he was a good songwriter, but he came back from that and started writing really interesting, dark songs – Tesselate is the first song he wrote after that experience.”. Looking at the band’s early work, and particularly the album cover for debut album An Awesome Wave, it would be easy to assume that psychedelics played a large role in the creation of alt-J, but according to Gus “We’ve never really been into psychedelics… we used to smoke weed when we wrote but that’s not something we do anymore because we’re all boring and in our thirties now. I feel like there is a healthy background of mind-expanding drugs but it’s not a big part of our process nowadays.”

An Awesome Wave, the group’s debut album, earned them a Mercury Music Prize in 2012. Their third album Relaxer (2017) was also nominated for the Mercury Prize. It would come as no surprise then if The Dreamwas also to be shortlisted for the award this year. Asked whether the group attaches much importance to these awards and accolades, Gus responded, “We’re extremely proud of the prizes we’ve won. We would love to win the Mercury Prize again; I can’t deny that. It would be incredible, but prizes are a very arbitrary thing and ultimately you can’t really think about it too much. All we can do is do our best in the studio and hope that maybe some accolades will follow but we shall have to see.”. 

The Dream is released on the 11th February through Infectious Music/BMG and is available to order from local independent record stores Jumbo Records and Crash Records. The trio will also be returning to their spiritual home of Leeds for a show at the O2 Academy on the 9th May as part of their tour of the UK and Ireland which runs throughout May. 

“I just try to let the tunes lead the way” – Miles Kane on his latest album, ‘Change the Show’

Benjamin Forrest on 21 January 2022

The latest effort from Birkenhead-born indie rock giant Miles Kane, entitled Change the Show, marks his fourth solo album since releasing Colour of the Trap back in 2011. I spoke with Miles ahead of the release, as he reflected on his previous work and gave us some insight into the production of this fantastic new album.

In many ways, Change the Show can be viewed as a departure from the heavy indie sound Kane became known for on his most popular tracks (such as ‘Rearrange’ or ‘Come Closer’). The new album tends to have a much more mature sound. Commenting on this development in his trademark sound, Kane said “I try to just let the tunes lead the way with it. Demoing it up and recording it, I was still doing tunes that were a bit more heavy or a bit more glammy, but then the ones that were a bit more in this world just seemed to sort of resonate more with me. It became clear to make it all like this.”. Whilst the album is not a million miles away from his previous work, Change the Show definitely has a more suave, classy style to it, with influences of soul and Motown present throughout. The inclusion of horns on tracks such as ‘Don’t Let It Get You Down’ came as a welcome inclusion to the new LP, Miles commented, “It’s probably a bit less aggressive than the last one but it’s still upbeat and stuff. I think as a collective of tunes, the order of it and the way they go into each other it works really well.”. The record does very much feel like it is an album, as opposed to a collection of songs, it almost dictates that it should be listened to start to finish rather than dipping in and out. As Miles said, it flows very well from song to song and the journey through the album is a very pleasant one. 

Change the Show is the fourth solo studio album released by Kane, his first album Colour of the Trap was released back in 2011 on Columbia Records. Reflecting on his solo career, he said, “I’d like to think my writing process has changed a lot – but whether it’s this album or the last album, I feel like I have that same feeling as I did when I did my first album. Every album I make I feel like it’s my first one. This album compared to that one, I’d like to think it’s moved on a bit, it’s cohesive and it’s its own little world.”. Previous to his solo projects, Miles fronted the indie band The Rascals, who received critical praise in the NME and supported Arctic Monkeys during their 2007 tour, “When I was younger and I was in the Rascals and Flames, that’s how I learnt my craft”. Miles has seen some great success throughout his solo work, with two top ten albums in Don’t Forget Who You Are (2013) and Coup de Grace (2018) – with Change the Showlikely to add that list. In addition to his solo work, though, Kane has also witnessed success with other projects such as The Last Shadow Puppets; his duo project with Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys fame. Asked about what he likes about working on solo projects versus working with a band, Kane explained, “When we do the Puppets – that’s its own sort of thing, I love that – a duo – I like a partnership. Even the thing I’ve done with Corine [Corine Bailey Rae] on this record, there’s something about duos that I really like. Even if it’s just a song, that kind of battle between two people or the back and forth – that’s something I enjoy a lot. I mean I love writing tunes on my own and recording with people; I did this album with Dave and Oscar from Sunglasses For Jaws and they’re an amazing drummer and bass player so it’s almost like being in a band when you’re making it. It’s still that aesthetic, I guess, but just no nonsense really.”.

Change the Show album cover, image courtesy of Ian Cheek press

In addition to this new album, Miles also featured on ‘Dealer’, a recent single by American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey, “We did that tune a while ago, there was a few tunes done and I love that tune. I think it that was one of those tunes that felt so unique at the time.” said Miles of the track. Whilst he did say the pair have recorded more songs together, so far ‘Dealer’ has been the only one to see the light of day. The single has proved to be incredibly popular, with over 30 million streams on Spotify. On the reaction to their song, Kane said “Seeing the reaction it’s had, all the streams and all that,  it’s blown my mind to be honest.”, he puts the popularity of the track down to its unique nature in comparison to the rest of Del Rey’s work, “It’s an intense tune and I think where she takes that song – no one’s ever heard her sing like that before. She really lets go and rips on it and I think that’s what makes it, it’s mind blowing.”. 

For depressingly obvious reasons, Miles has been forced to postpone his UK tour to May, which will see him play 16 dates across the country. Speaking on how it feels to be back playing live shows after so long, the artist said, “I can’t wait, to be honest. We had a little taste of it at the end of the summer, we did a couple of little festivals and one little gig – so the carrot’s been dangled. I’d play anywhere right now.”. Known for his exciting and energetic live performances and armed with a brand-new album full of effortlessly cool tracks, the tour is certainly not one to be missed. Kane will be visiting the O2 Academy in Leeds on Sunday the 29thMay, tickets are available from the artists’ website. 

Bukky Leo & Black Egypt: The Legend of William Onyeabor – Live at Belgrave Music Hall & Canteen 10.10.2021

Benjamin Forrest on 17 October 2021

On Sunday night, Belgrave Music Hall was filled with the funky and infectiously joyous tunes of Bukky Leo and Black Egypt, as they performed their renditions of some songs by the great William Onyeabor. 

William Onyeabor was an incredible artist who produced synth-driven funk music in Nigeria in the 1970s and 80s. Very little is known about the life of Onyeabor, but his music was recently thrust into the Western mainstream when David Byrne’s record label Luaka Bop released a compilation album entitled Who Is William Onyeabor? in 2013. The compilation marked the first instance of Onyeabor’s music being reissued, and the album achieved widespread acclaim – NPR even listed it as one of the greatest albums of 2013. 

As previously stated, not much is known about Onyeabor himself but there is no shortage of rumours circulating online; one of the most widespread being that he studied film in the Soviet Union and brought synthesisers back to Nigeria with him, although Onyeabor told Eric Welles Nyström (who works with Luaka Bop) that he studied record manufacturing in Stockholmand purchased synthesisers in Italy –  nothing seems certain when it comes to Onyeabor, it is unclear what is fact and what is legend. One thing that is certain, though, is that William Onyeabor was an unbelievably talented musician who was far ahead of his time. To produce the music that he did, at a time in which synth-based music was still very much a new thing in the West, in Nigeria and moreover to record, produce and press that music with his own facilities is almost unbelievable. Much of Onyeabor’s work still sounds as though it is the future of music, even now, which is surely a testament to the originality and vision of his music. 

Onyeabor is said to have become a born-again Christian in the late 1980s, refusing to speak about him or his music again. After the Luaka Bop compilation was released, Noisy released a 30-minute documentary about Onyeabor in which he repeatedly refused to be interviewed. It was only in December of 2014 (37 years after the release of his first album) that Onyeabor took part in a radio interview for BBC 6Music. 

Tragically, the world lost William Onyeabor in early 2017. The music, however, lives on and will continue to do so thanks to people like Bukky Leo. The fantastically talented saxophonist who found fame among London’s acid jazz scene in the 1980s, now tours the country with his band Black Egypt celebrating the legend of William Onyeabor and introducing those funky tunes to a new audience. 

At Belgrave Music Hall & Canteen, Bukky Leo and Black Egypt took to the stage and performed their renditions of some of the best loved William Onyeabor hits – including ‘Fantastic Man’ which you may recognise as it recently featured on the soundtrack of the third series of Netflix’s ‘Sex Education’. Although the crowd was somewhat sparce given it was a Sunday night performance, the positive energy in the room was unmatched. Everybody was smiling, everybody was dancing, it truly felt like a celebration of great music and, of course, William Onyeabor. 

As you would expect from a band fronted by Bukky Leo, the musical talent onstage was palpable – every section of the band performed so perfectly, yet their performances also felt as though there was a sense of improvisation and unpredictability. The horn section, in particular, was something to behold; it felt as though every note was speaking directly to your soul. As is to be expected of a show centred around the work of Onyeabor, the synth was an integral part of the performance and it was played masterfully. The two backing singers/dancers were mesmerising and definitely set the tone for the concert, their dance moves would even put Saturday Night Fever-era John Travolta to shame. It would be an impossible task to be in the presence of such a band and not feel an overwhelming need to dance. William Onyeabor never performed live, even if he did you would probably only have a chance of witnessing it if you lived in Enugu, Nigeria in the 1970s, but it was a wonderful experience to hear these songs performed and shared within a live music environment. 

Bukky Leo & Black Egypt are releasing an album of their Onyeabor renditions at the end of October entitled Bukky Leo & Black Egypt presents The Legends of William Onyeabor, which was recorded live at the Jazz Café, Camden, in 2018. Advanced copies were sold at the Belgrave show which means the Gryphon can wholeheartedly recommend picking up a copy of the album upon its release, it captures not only the brilliance of both Onyeabor and Bukky Leo’s work, but also the absolute happiness conveyed by hearing those songs in a live environment. Onyeabor stated in his BBC interview, “I only composed the type of music that would help the world”, with the joy that his music has brought to the world, and the good times being brought by Bukky Leo and Black Egypt to venues up and down the country, there is surely a world of truth in that statement. 

Squid take you on a sonic journey through the Bright Green Field

Benjamin Forrest on 20 May 2021

Brighton-based quintet Squid have slowly been releasing tracks since back in 2016, with some notable highlights being the 2018 single ‘The Dial’ released on the cult label Speedy Wunderground – who would later release their incredible ‘Town Centre’ EP, and the 2019 single ‘Houseplants’ which received a lot of airplay on BBC 6 Music. More locally, Squid made waves playing a blistering good set at Hyde Park Book Club as part of Live at Leeds in 2019. With the amount of hype built up around the band, it was very possible that their long-awaited debut Bright Green Field(released via Warp Records) would feel somewhat underwhelming, but fortunately for us Squid delivered one of the most original and exciting albums we will see in 2021. 

Squid are one of the few bands around at the moment that never seem to sit still, constantly jumping from one sound to the next – just as you think you have gotten used to their sound, you are jolted in completely the opposite direction. This is perhaps why, with every new release, Squid seem more individualist and bohemian. Bright Green Fieldincorporates elements of jazz, punk, psychedelia, funk, post-punk, dub and everything in-between; it is a beautiful sonic menagerie and an excellent listening experience. 

The album kicks off with the atmospheric ‘Resolution Square’ which sets up the experimental tone of the album perfectly before blending seamlessly into the ‘G.S.K.’. The first track and its transition to ‘G.S.K.’ really signifies that Bright Green Field is not merely a collection of songs but a perfectly handcrafted album; a listening experience in which you are transported to this frantic and slightly weird world for just under an hour by the means of blaring horns and dystopian lyrics. ‘Narrator’ is a definite highlight within the album, the 8-and-a-half-minute epic encapsulating much of what is so brilliant about the band. The tempo can change on a sixpence, building to what seems like a climax before stopping dead in its tracks. The unpredictably chaotic nature of the track coupled with the contrast between the frantic vocals of Ollie Judge and the (initially) gentle tones of guest vocalist Martha Skye Murphy combine to form an exigently compelling track. Furthermore, the fact that ‘Narrator’ can exist on the same album as the experimental electronic track ‘Paddling’, the Krautrock influence of ‘Peel St.’ or the dream-like psychedelia of ‘2010’ and still have the album flow so seamlessly as though it were one continuous song is testament to the musical brilliance of Squid. That being said, Bright Green Field really works best as an album – none of the individual songs on the album would work particularly well as a single release, or at least they would not have the same impact as they do when listened to within the context of the full album.

Bright Green Field is a prime example of a genuinely exciting band at their very best. From the cover art to the mixing, there is seemingly nothing that could be improved on this album. The only worry is that it will be a difficult album to follow, but then again, if anybody can do it, Squid can! The band are set to play Brudenell Social Club on August 31st, it will be interesting to see how their new material is performed live but based on their Live at Leeds set from 2019, it will be a great show regardless. 

John Keats: Still Relevant 200 Years Later?

Benjamin Forrest on 6 March 2021

John Keats was one of the key figures within the second wave of romantic poets – alongside the likes of Lord Byron and Percy Shelley – and he is remembered as one of the most brilliant poets in British literary history. Is this praise deserved or is the work of Keats only held in high regard by literary snobs and upper-class pseudo-intellectuals? Well, it is likely a mixture of both. A lot of Keats’ work is shrouded in obscure references to Greek mythology or language which has become outdated since the time period it was penned, but if you manage to look beyond the initial pretentiousness you will find many of the key themes still resonate with modern audiences – even 200 years after his death.

Keats was a man driven by passionate emotion but (like every great artist) was unappreciated in his time, his work only gained recognition for its genius after Keats died of tuberculosis in 1821. He experimented with different themes and ideas – from gothic stories of nymphs and snakes in ‘Lamia’ to Shakespearian style sonnets to a retelling of a novella from the 14th century in ‘Isabella, or the Pot of Basil’; the versatility shown within Keats’ poetry is quite incredible. In many ways, perhaps it is better that Keats died a relative unknown, as it allowed him to express himself with a total freedom. It did not matter what he said because it was only going to be read by a small audience, thus allowing him to be totally vulnerable to his own emotions within his writing. This is something that should resonate with young people today: the free expression of your emotions not clouded by societal devices or the outdated stiff upper lip attitude favoured by older generations is something we can all aspire to.  

The story of John Keats is akin to the story of a modern-day rock star: a tortured, unappreciated genius taking ungodly amounts of psychedelics only to die at the age of 25 – he was more rock ‘n’ roll than Mick Jagger. Whilst the 80-line-long ‘Ode to a Nightingale’ might not be as catchy as ‘Dancing in the Street’, it certainly has a lot more meaningful substance to it (and isn’t accompanied by quite such a terrible music video). After all, Keats was only 21 when his first poem was published (‘O Solitude’); he was experiencing and expressing emotions that have been felt by nearly every young person at some point in their lives. If people read Keats more regularly, perhaps if it was not thrust upon unwilling A-Level students so forcefully, they would discover the themes of love, conflict, melancholy and confusion – which is surely relevant to most young people today. Confused, depressed and incredibly high: young people today have more in common with John Keats than with soulless pop stars forcing their vapid and commercialised slogans down the throats of consumer. 

Over the years, Keats’ writing has become a voice for the outcasted, despondent and intellectual – most obviously signified by the mention of him within the lyrics of The Smiths’ 1986 song ‘Cemetry Gates’. 200 years after the death of John Keats, there is still a place for his poetry within our society – whether that is in the dusty libraries of National Trust manor houses, the lyrics of 80s indie pop songs, the bookshelves of hopelessly stressed A-Level students or simply in the hearts of those who appreciate his incredible writing. I suspect that 200 hundred years from now people will still be discussing the importance of Keats’ poetry.